Xilinx first developed different families with different mixes of DSP and logic, and Altera is following suit with three new Stratix III family variants
They are: one delivering balanced logic, memory and DSP resources for general-purpose applications, a second providing enhanced memory and DSP resources for memory- and DSP-intensive applications and a third offering integrated transceivers for high-bandwidth interface applications.
But Altera has also developed feature two new technologies that dramatically lower power while meeting high-performance requirements - the key problem with 65nm designs.
The Programmable Power Technology enables every programmable logic array block (LAB), DSP block and memory block to independently operate at high-speed or low-power mode. The PowerPlay feature in the Quartus II design software version 6.1 automatically analyzes the design and identifies which blocks are in the critical path and demand the highest performance, setting these to high-speed mode. All other logic is automatically put into low-power mode.
The second power-optimising feature, Selectable Core Voltage, provides the designer options to select either 1.1V for designs needing the highest performance or 0.9V for designs requiring minimum power consumption.
The parts will be built on TSMC's 65nm process, although samples are not expected until Q3 of next year. This is comparable to Xilinx, which received samples of its first 65nm parts this week, but does not plan to go into production until 2008.
“As high-end FPGAs are increasingly used as the heart of many electronics systems, it is critical for OEMs to achieve new levels of performance and density while minimizing power consumption,” said Jordan Plofsky, Altera's senior vice president of marketing. “Stratix III FPGAs feature a perfect combination of hardware enhancements and new software capabilities designed to maximise productivity. Our customers can now design their next-generation systems with confidence and successfully get to market quickly and efficiently.”
For more information, visit www.altera.com
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